Posted by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney On March - 7 - 2010
A couple months back, Hector from Faction Cycling Co. sent us a jersey to test out. All of their jerseys are made in the U.S.A. and the company is based in Chicago, where folks know a thing or two about living with two wheels.
Here’s a bit about the jersey from Faction Cycling’s website:
• 100% Polyester Micro Denier Yarn
• Comfort Fit Design
• Pocket-less Construction
• 3/4-length Invisible Zipper
• Made in the U S of A
Faction Cycling describes the jersey as “Club Cut”, and while it is roomier than a race-cut jersey, it’s not quite as roomy as other club-cut jerseys I’ve tried. I give that a thumbs-up — I don’t like excess fabric flapping in the breeze — but others looking for more room may want to try a size up.
You may have noticed in the above description that there are no pockets. Faction says:
Since we were already packing all our junk in a bag, we ordered up a club cut jersey, and said hold the pockets. We kept the rest of what we liked in a standard jersey and lived comfortably ever after.
It’s true that many (most?) commuters and other cyclists carry a saddlebag to hold their goodies while riding, so it would seem that going pocketless is a good thing. In practice, though, I actually missed the pockets that I’ve become accustomed to having…my saddlebag isn’t that big, and I often carry a couple of extra C02 cartridges, my cellphone and snacks in jersey pockets. If you’ve got a bigger bag (saddle- or handlebar-bag) or routinely carry a messenger bag or backpack, you won’t miss the pockets as much as I did.
The detailing of the Flatlander jersey is subtle…thin white stripes against a charcoal grey background, with only a small company logo on one sleeve and a small Municipal Flag of Chicago adorning the left breast (Windy City represent!). It doesn’t scream “LOOK AT ME!” the way many other cycling jerseys tend to and as such fits the needs of commuters who want to keep a bit lower profile out on the roads. And, it doesn’t look out of place with other clothing…you want to wear a pair of regular shorts or jeans with it? Go ahead: the neutral color and subtle ornamentation won’t clash with “street clothes”.
The fabric is of top-quality…all of the features (durable, moisture-wicking) one might expect of a cycling-specific garment. Construction is top-notch, too; the stitching is great and there are no odd puckers in the jersey. A 3/4-length zipper lets you ventilate as needed on hot days.
Overall, I think this is a great jersey — with a price of $75, it is in keeping with other brands’ jerseys and it’s refreshing to see a U.S. made product. If you really need pockets, you’re in luck: Faction Cycling makes a few jerseys with traditional pockets as well. Check out their site for other jerseys, caps and cool t-shirts.
Please click here to read our review disclaimer as required by the Federal Trade Commission.
Posted by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney On February - 28 - 2010
I recently had the pleasure of reading Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities by Jeff Mapes (Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2009). Mr. Mapes is a political reporter for the Oregonian, and he put together a great overall look at American bicycle culture.
Mapes gives a pretty thorough overview of the major (and some minor, but influential) players in the U.S. bicycle advocacy movement and traces the history of our bicycle culture and advocacy progress from the early 1970s to the present. All the high points are covered: politicians such as Jim Oberstar (D-Minnesota), John Forester of the vehicular cycling movement, advocacy groups like the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (now called the Active Transportation Alliance) and Bike Portland, the Critical Mass movement, even Reverend Phil of Bike Porn Tour fame. This gives the reader a good picture of how modern bike culture developed.
As with many such books, a trip to Amsterdam, the fabled bicycle mecca, was included. Mapes is careful to point out that although bicycling is ingrained in Dutch society (as it is in Copenhagen, Denmark…the “other” mecca), many of the real developments didn’t happen until the the late 1960s for both areas. And, Mapes points out that both Amsterdam and Copenhagen are not without their car problems; despite barriers such as high sales and ownership taxes and the cost of fuel, car miles have increased.
Pedaling Revolution has chapters on safety issues, describing many U.S. cities as “in that awkward period where utilitarian cycling has become visible but still not mainstream”. Mapes touches on some of the vehicular cycling vs. dedicated bicycle infrastructure points in this chapter. There are also chapters on getting kids back on bikes and health considerations (the American decrease in physical activity and subsequent explosion in obesity and diabetes epidemics). The health chapter does not focus its sights squarely on the motor vehicle as villian, but Mapes is careful to list it as one of many contributing factors to the health crisis facing U.S. cities.
Overall, the book is a good read — complete, well-researched and sprinkled throughout with fascinating experiences and interactions between the author and people involved in bicycle culture at all levels. Add it to your booklist; it’s worth checking out.
Like this review? Check out our other book reviews by visiting our book review archive.
A winter’s worth of riding through slush and grime had made my pannier rain covers nasty. I’d rinse them off with clean water every few days, but they had gotten deeply stained with road grime and they started losing most of their water repellent properties. It’s hard to see in these photos, but the inner surface that faces the wheels was really dirty, even after rinsing them off in the sink.
Our friends at Nikwax were happy to send us some sample-sized products to try out. Tech Wash is a special detergent made for washing water-repellent material. It’s supposed to help lift stains out and clean the surface without diminishing the waterproofing properties of GORE-TEX and similar textiles. In fact, it’s supposed to help revitalize them a bit. We’ll see. These rain covers are FILTHY and leak water. I also added my waterproof ski shell to the mix. One of these containers is supposed to be good for up to three garments.
After Tech Wash, the pannier covers were notably cleaner, with only a few really deep stains remaining. I let them dry completely before taking this photo, then I put them to the test with some water spray. Some parts of the rain cover shed water while it permeated other parts. The rain covers were clean, but their waterproofing was too far gone. My ski jacket repelled water like new, though!
I ran the rain covers through the wash again, this time with NikWax’s TX Direct wash-in Waterproofing solution. This milky substance is added directly to the washer (or to a sink full of water) without any detergent, and you “wash” already-clean waterproof gear in it to revitalize its hydrophobic properties.
I once again dried the rain covers out, and then performed the same test with water spray. Even after 5 minutes of water sitting on the rain covers, nothing was soaking through.
That was about a week ago, and they’re still repelling water. Hopefully, after being treated with NikWax, they will last through the rainy spring season that’s on the way.
Nikwax has a wide range of products for cleaning and refurbishing technical clothing. This includes scrubbing cleaners for cycling/running shoes, Base Wash for deodorizing and restoring the wicking and breathability of your base layers, and spray-on waterproofing agents. I may try some of these other products in the future, but for now, I’m quite pleased with TX Direct and Tech Wash.
Please read our review disclaimer as required by the Federal Trade Commission.
Posted by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney On February - 20 - 2010
Several months back, the wizards behind the wildly popular Chrome messenger bag line announced that they would be coming out with several models of shoes, all named after famous WWII battles. Fast forward a couple months and they sent RL a courtesy pair of their “Kursk” shoes to try out. With RL’s beefy physique and matching wide feet, those shoes just didn’t fit, so he passed them over to me.
Here’s a bit about the shoes from Chrome’s site:
•Made of our Weatherproof 1,000 denier Cordura with back-padding
•100% vulcanized construction
•Low profile design to better fit into a toe cage
•Re-enforced nylon/glass fiber shank to support the midsole
•Board lasted sole to eliminate pedal hot spot
•Skid resistant contact rubber on the sole
•Polyurethane contoured crash pad insole
•Durable rubber heel cup with reflective safety hit
•Lace garage so laces don’t get caught in your chain
•Steel aglets to keep laces from fraying
The Kursk shoes are very reminiscent of the classic Converse All-Star, which has long been very popular for urban riders of all stripes. Right off the bat I’ve got to say that Chrome took the general styling of those classic shoes and made them WAY better.
First, the construction — the shoes are made of lightly-padded Cordura nylon and vulcanized rubber. The Cordura is incredibly durable and blows traditional canvas away. It doesn’t stretch, it doesn’t rot and it shakes off a ton of abuse. Same with the rubber toe cap and bumpers on the Kursk shoes — despite some heavy riding and daily kick-around wear, these shoes still look new.
Second, the details — this shoe has several features that make it ideal for urban riders. I especially like the “lace garage”, a loop of elastic that holds the tied laces parallel to the sides of the shoe. No more annoying (and dangerous) windup from a loose lace getting caught in your chain!
The laces have steel aglets (endcaps) to give an extra measure of durability…no more fraying. Also, there are small but effective reflective inserts in the heels for a bit of nighttime visibility. That’s always a nice touch.
The logos are fairly subtle, and the color combo is one of my favorites…black with red accents. I showed them to my friend David when he was visiting — he’s a longtime Chrome bag user and jokes that his black-and-red Metropolis bag was the inspiration for building up a black-and-red fixed gear bike…after all, the bike has to match the bag, right? Needless to say, he was quite envious. These shoes are understated, yet they catch people’s attention in a positive way. I received quite a few compliments on them.
How do they ride? Quite nice, in fact — the stiffened sole eliminates the hot-spot issue many Converse/Vans/Adidas Samba wearers experience when riding with traditional cage pedals. One simply cannot feel the edges of the pedals digging in to the bottom of your foot with the Chromes on. And the shoes aren’t so stiff that they make walking uncomfortable — Chrome did their homework and found a good balance in that stiffness.
The sole is plenty sticky…perfect for platform pedals like the BMX models I favor, and the shoe’s overall profile lends itself to riding with toeclips, slipping easily in and out of the clips without hangups.
Perhaps the only negative thing I can say about the Kursks is that they’re cut rather narrow. I have fairly bony feet and even I found the toebox a bit cramped. Unlike canvas shoes that will stretch with enough wear, the Cordura fabric of these shoes remains unyielding — that may change with more wear, but I’m doubting it. If you’ve got wide feet, you may consider purchasing a half-size larger than your normal shoes (they DO come in half-sizes from 4.5 to 11.5, with whole sizes in 12, 13 and 14). Or, you may want to find a place locally to try them on before pulling the trigger.
These shoes have become my default “casual Friday” work shoes — they look great and they’re great to ride in. For $70.00, you’ll get a well-made and well-thought-out pair of shoes that will dazzle your friends. Thumbs up!
Check out Chrome’s online store for these and other models of shoes, including the Saipan, the Arnhem and the Midway.
Please click here to read our review disclaimer as required by the Federal Trade Commission.
At the beginning of 2010 I previewed this new pannier set that I would be riding around town.
I mounted them on my bike – multiple bikes – with zero hardware or tools required. Just snap and go – literally. Note:I do not have Bontrager brand racks on any of my bikes but these panniers still worked with my set-up. For comparison, I visited a local bike shop along my daily commuting route and compared my set-up to a true Bontrager set-up:
(My racks just happen to be by Blackburn and I was able to mount these panniers using one of the down-sloping posts.)
(On the Bontrager rack the lower clip attaches to the diagonal tube)
The interchange mechanism is all plastic and I question its reliability over time. I’ve already lost the yellow rubber cushions that help fit the pannier clamp to the rack. In all the on and off, the yellow fittings just fell out. I noticed they were missing one morning when I went to mount them for the daily commute.
Over the past month of riding with these panniers, I’ve really come to appreciate multiple panniers and complete independence from a backpack. When I first started commuting several years ago, I always rode with a backpack. My bike back then did not have a rear rack and the backpack just travelled easier. When I finally installed a rack, I also invested in a waterproof pannier and was more attracted to its waterproofness and the additional cargo space it provided than to having it fully replace my backpack. At the end of last summer, however, I decided to ditch the backpack entirely and rely solely on my single pannier. My back appreciates not carrying the weight, but the single bucket style pannier wasn’t always adequate. Enter – the Bontrager Interchange Urban Commuter Pannier (sold as a set). I compare one of the Bontrager bags to my bag:
You can see how these panniers compare in size to my old pannier. They are a bit narrower but about what I’ve been used to. But they offer a bit more height. Also, this set has a symmetrical design and are both soft shell so they keep their shape but do compress if needed. As noted by the company,
One bag is compartmentalized for daily needs: keys, glasses, music, phone, etc
One bag contains a large open compartment for clothes, shoes, etc
I’m used to the large open “bucket” concept; little stuff often got buried in my single bag. With these, I can use the one bag for extra layers and tools, while the compartmentalized bag carries my daily trinkets – camera, book, lunch and other papers (and even my laptop on occasion). A laptop up to 15.4″ should fit in this bag without a problem; Bontrager makes a laptop sleeve (sold separately) designed to work with their bags, but I just used my own neoprene padded sleeve and was fine.
It would have been nice if the interior of the compartmentalized bag was more like a briefcase and/or had some better ability to organize the big compartment. Since I often am a pedestrian during the day, I would slide a bag with a handle into the pannier and be able to just lift it out and go later. But I noticed when I just wanted to slide a few files or papers directly into the pannier itself that they would get lost in the openness of the single compartment.
On the exterior, both bags have an external pocket on the body of the bag, but only the compartmentalized bag has a small external pocket on the lid of the bag. These pockets simply served for small items – a set of keys or some papers, and they did come in handy without having to access the interior of the bag for something small.
Reflective material abounds on this set, including a separate bright yellow raincover that each pannier stows hidden away in a back bottom pocket. I used the raincover only a couple of times and it did its job, including providing added visibility. I really like that the reflective strips on these bags appear all around the exterior so as to increase their visibility in all directions.
Accessing these bags did provide me with a bit of a challenge, especially since I’ve been using them in the colder weather when I’m wearing gloves or mittens. The bags each have a flip-down lid that clamps shut with plastic cargo buckles on each side of the bag. But releasing the buckles with cold fingers to access the interior contents of the bags proved difficult and cumbersome, especially since both buckles had to be unsnapped in order to open the lid. The adjustable straps that allow cinching of the buckle closure would flap as I ride and for my first few commutes with these panniers my right foot kept knocking one of the straps with each pedal stroke. Luckily I realized I could mount the bags a bit further back on the rack and avoid future interference.
Each bag comes with a detachable shoulder strap for ease of carrying these bags off the bike. However, I was never able to figure out a great way to efficiently make use of these straps. For one, the straps attach to the bags on the sides of the “lid” (not to the pannier side itself) so the lid must be buckled closed in order to carry the bag with the strap. Once back on the bike, there is no set means of stowing the shoulder strap from flapping around or getting caught in the wheel. I tried slipping the excess strap into one of the exterior pockets but that was not reliable. I could detach the straps each time but in the cold that was cumbersome, too. I finally settled for cinching them a bit and laying them under the lid before closing the bags up. That way the straps would be right on top next time I needed them and ready to go. But I do wish they weren’t mounted on the lid and that I didn’t have to open and then securely close the lid whenever I wanted to use the shoulder strap.
I do like the hauling capacity that this pannier set offers. Rated to carry a volume of 1,975cu.in. (32,364cc), I was able to schlup not only my daily commuting needs (and then some) but also to stop at the market on the way home and grab some groceries. I evenly distributed my haul between the two bags and was still able to latch the bags shut without a problem.
The interchange mounting mechanism allowed me to use the handles to quickly mount/unmount these panniers and carry my load up to my apartment – usually just holding the bags by the handles.
I will say that it wasn’t always convenient having two bags to carry around with me (since I usually don’t trust leaving a pannier on the bike for fear of the pannier or its contents getting stolen). But in the end I enjoyed the increased organization these panniers offered me as an urban commuter. They live up to their namesake.
Bontrager makes several other bags/panniers to fit nearly any cyclist’s needs – for utility, fashion or performance – on and off the bike. At an MSRP of $179.99, I’m not sure the Urban Commuter is perfect for every budget. But these panniers have introduced me to a whole new line of bag functionality that I certainly appreciate.
Overview:
Pros:
* capacity
* reflectiveness
* easy mounting on the rack
* rain cover
Cons:
* cost
* plastic mounting parts – easily lost
* shoulder strap cumbersome to store/use
Please read our review disclaimer as required by the Federal Trade Commission.
Posted by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney On January - 18 - 2010
So, just what was in that massive bike box the other day? Well, after wading through a cubic yard of packing material, things start to be revealed…
And, after a couple hours of hardcore wrenching, the RANS Hammertruck was assembled and ready to roll:
What IS that machine? Imagine an Electra cruiser ran off into the woods with a Surly Big Dummy…this could be the product of such a tryst. The RANS Hammertruck is a newish player on the cargobike market, with many visual and cargo-handling cues from the Xtracycle but also wildly different. Now you may know that we’re huge fans of the Xtracycle platform around here…so there will be inevitable comparisons between it and this Hammertruck. In any case, we’re very excited to be able to test the Hammertruck for a couple of months before sending it back to RANS.
The manufacturer specs list a quality component roster, and this bike is rated for a whopping 525 lbs. of rider and cargo. Suggested retail price is around $2000. We’ll provide more details in the coming weeks in our “first impressions” article.
In the meantime, feast your eyes on the cargo-handling portion of the Hammertruck. The side bags are shown in “rolled and stowed” mode, but rest assured: once they are deployed, they are HUGE. Also shown are the optional side runners for increased cargo capacity. This machine looks tailor-made for hauling a giant load of whatever you can stuff, strap, cram or wedge into or onto those hefty racks and bags:
Please click here to read our review disclaimer as required by the Federal Trade Commission.
Posted by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney On January - 12 - 2010
Asisourtradition here at Bikecommuters.com, I figured I’d post a photo of the biggest, most unwieldy bike box I’ve ever received at our secret East Coast testing laboratory:
What’s in that massive box? Kitty wants to know…
With a little luck, I’ll have preview photos sometime during the weekend. In the meantime, stay tuned — this should be interesting, to say the least.
Posted by Jack "Ghost Rider" Sweeney On January - 11 - 2010
A couple of months ago, the folks from Jango Bikes loaned us one of their new folding bikes, the Flik V9, to test out. We previewed it here.
I’ve had a chance to ride it quite a bit — never got to try the true multimodal approach (bus/bike or bike/train) with it, but did pack it into the trunk of my wife’s car on days too rainy in the morning to brave the first half of my commute.
Well, how did it perform? The bike itself is a blast to ride…I’ve always been enamored with folding bikes as they seem to bring a smile to my face whenever I get a chance to ride one. I found the gearing to be quite adequate for my commute — no real hills to tackle, but plenty of range with the 50T chainring and 11-34 9-speed cassette.
There seems to be plenty of adjustability in the bike itself. While the handlebars don’t move up and down, the seatpost has plenty of range and the bike fit me fine. I think about 6 footers or so are the top limit for riders of this bike, however, and smaller folks will appreciate the bike even more.
I’ve read a number of accounts from other folding bike users that it seems to take a lot of effort to spool up such small wheels as compared to a fullsize bike. I certainly didn’t notice that — the Flik gets up to speed effortlessly enough for urban riding. This is no race bike, to be sure, and isn’t designed to be blazing-fast. Overall the ride was smooth.
One oddity I did notice was that sometimes as I was clipping along, I’d hit a bump and the rear shock would reverberate in time with my pedaling. I believe this is referred to as “pedal bob” in the mountain biking world. While it didn’t throw me off my game or really interfere with my forward progress, I found myself chanting “boingyboingyboingy!” in my head as I bobbed along. The rear shock is adjustable for preload with a knurled dial on the upper body of the shock, but even at its tightest setting, the bobbing was noticeable.
The front and rear shocks do smooth out the roughness of road surfaces…I’ve long believed that suspension components are overkill for just about any commuter-friendly bike and add unneeded complexity and weight to the bike, but in many cases they DO serve to make things a bit more comfortable. The spring-damped front shock (not adjustable) felt a bit clunky, as if the headset was loose. If I could, I’d specify the bike without these extras. The entire range of Flik models come equipped with the rear shock, but the front end of the 8-speed models (T8/V8/V8i) is rigid.
The shifting was flawless…Shimano 9-speed trigger shifter controlling the Sora rear derailleur over a SRAM 9-speed cassette. I had no issues whatsoever with that.
Likewise the brakes — Tektro IO cable-actuated disc brakes, with the front brake equipped with the DiscBlock lock (a hardened steel pin that fits through one of the holes in the disc for casual theft-prevention). The discs performed quite adequately, even in the rain. Disc brakes make a lot of sense on commuter bikes — able to stop reliably in rain, snow and mud and they cut down on expensive rim wear.
One riding issue I did have with the Flik is heelstrike against the derailleur guard and driveside chainstay. With rather large feet and the short, widely-bowed chainstays of the Flik, I had a tendency to clip the bike with my heel as I pedaled. Careful foot placement as I got used to riding the bike definitely helped, and of course folks with smaller feet shouldn’t have as many troubles with this area as I did.
The V9 comes stock with a cantilevered rear rack that folds along with the rest of the bike. It’s not rated for too much cargo (5kgs), but is plenty strong enough for a sack of groceries or light commuting load. I was unable to test the rack with traditional panniers, but Jango’s parent company Topeak makes a great rack bag with folding panniers that clips to the Flik’s rack. Slung underneath the rack is a pouch for a reinforced nylon storage/transport bag for the folded bike:
The V9 also comes stock with front and rear lights. The rear light was missing from the loaner I tested, and the front light is…well…fairly ineffective. It isn’t bright enough to navigate by, and may be set too low to provide much “see me” effect for motorists.
On some other sites, folks have decried the lack of fenders on this bike — I’ve got to say that not having fenders on this bike is NOT the dealbreaker others make it out to be. After all, those small wheels are so far away from the rider that they couldn’t possibly splash you with muddy water (smirk)! This bike is probably not the first choice for a sloppy, rough-n-tumble rain-soaked commuter anyway — it’s more geared toward someone who needs a small, apartment-friendly machine to get around the city rather than braving the worst Mother Nature can throw at us.
How easily does this bike fold? Well, take a look at the following video:
It’s a 4 second process to fold the bike into “storage mode”…even less for “shuttling” mode. Amazing! A lot of great engineering went into the design of the folding mechanisms…it couldn’t be simpler (or faster). Having experienced other folding bikes, I can say that the Flik simply blows away the competition in terms of getting the bike ready for transport. But how does it compare in size to a more traditional folding bike? I asked my friend Ken if I could borrow his Dahon Curve folder to make a comparison shot:
As you can see, the Dahon packs down into a smaller overall package. Other Flik users have expressed concern that the folded bike doesn’t fit as easily into small car trunks as other folders, but I was unable to find a small car to test. Nor was I able to bring the Flik onto a city bus or train…although I did wheel it into a few stores with no problems and no concerns about bulk. To be honest, I’ll happily sacrifice a little extra size if it means that folding this bike up is so effortless and fast! By the way, I weighed the bike as provided to me — it weighs right at 35 lbs. Not the easiest bike to schlep around…luckily it can easily be wheeled around in storage and shuttling modes.
So, is this the ultimate folder? The jury’s still out on that — there are so many great folders on the market these days, most of which I have never had the chance to ride. Perhaps my biggest issue with the Flik is price: with an MSRP of around $1500, the Flik is not an inexpensive machine. And, I’m not sure the parts spec on this bike justifies such a price. For about the same price, a base-model Brompton (considered the gold standard in folding bikes) could be had, as could any number of handsomely-appointed folders from Dahon and Bike Friday. I understand that engineering such a unique folder costs quite a bit more, and the technology used to facilitate that folding (cartridge-bearing pivots, camlocks and safety collars) adds to the cost. I’m afraid that some folks will take a look at the mostly-generic parts spec — with a couple of name-brand standouts like the Continental reflective tires, the Avid Speed Dial brake levers, SRAM cassette and Shimano Sora derailleur — and be turned off. It’s a toss-up — does a bike like this NEED high-end parts? I’ll be honest: the low-end and generic stuff sure performed without a hitch.
Hits:
- Effortless and fast folding mechanism
- fun, stable ride
- comfortable
- easy to store
- comes with basic accessories (lights, rack, storage bag, bell)
Misses:
- price
- low-end parts
- heavy
- not as compact as other folding bikes
We’d like to thank Jango for giving us the opportunity to try out the Flik — despite its shortcomings (mostly minor), it has definitely encouraged me to add a folder to my personal commuting fleet. Take a look at Jango’s other models by visiting their site.
Please click here to read our review disclaimer as required by the Federal Trade Commission.
Just in time for the holidays and hauling around all those gifts, Santa delivered a package to my doorstep – a set of very reflective Bontrager Interchange Urban Commuter Panniers.
Now that I’m on the mend – again – from being ill, I’ll be putting these panniers to the test. Last year at this time I was using a backpack and a single pannier to haul around all my stuff – clothing layers, lunch, books, tools. This year I’ve ditched the backpack (to save my back and shoulders) and look forward to the organization that this set of panniers offers.
The interchange hardware means that I should have no problem using these panniers on any of my bikes.
I just received these nifty lights as a test sample from a fairly new company called Bike Brightz.
If you visit their website, you’ll notice that they have a glow very similar to a neon light, but in fact Bike Brightz are LEDs, and they don’t cost as much as the neon light company’s products. When you order, the package comes with a few zip ties, velcro, rubber gasket/grommet, batteries and the LED unit. The LED unit has 4 modes: constant, flashing-slow, medium, fast.
Price per unit is $19.99
Available in 4 colors – Red,Green,Blue,Yellow
I mounted the blue and red lights on my bike, and you can see that it’s pretty bright and it will get you some attention and will definitely be seen by motorists.
I installed one on the chainstay and one on the down tube.
The Bike Brightz do not get in the way at all. I’ll be testing these lights out on both off and on-road conditions to see how well they do.
